South Manchester Book Group: September 2026

South Manchester Book Group

We're a friendly and open South Manchester pub-based reading group, and we share a love of books and discussing them with other people. We meet every fortnight, but you don't have to come to them all. It's dead simple; choose a book you like the sound of, read it (or even part of it) beforehand and turn up with a few ideas and money for beer / wine / flirtinis. It's very informal, and we're quite a friendly bunch. We meet at a pub in Didsbury around 8.30 pm, and can usually be found on the table with the books and flirtinis.

We've become rather popular recently so unfortunately aren't accepting new members just at the moment. But please drop us a line on the Contact Us form and we'll add you to our mailing list.

Our reading list, past and present, appears below. Our upcoming schedule of what we’re reading next is here.

Just Kids — Patti Smith

“We were as Hansel and Gretel and we ventured out into the black forest of the world. There were temptations and witches and demons we never dreamed of and there was splendor we only partially imagined.”

Just Kids begins as a love story and ends as an elegy. Beautifully written, this is a profound portrait of two young artists, often hungry, sated only by art and experience. And an unforgettable portrait of New York, her rich and poor, hustlers and hellions, those who made it and those whose memory lingers near.

We'll be reading Just Kids by Patti Smith though we won't be at The Didsbury on Wilmslow Road in Didsbury on 01 October 2026.

The Invention of Morel — Adolfo Bioy Casares

“We can always find a cause for suspicion if we look for it.”

A fugitive man arrives to a mysterious island around Polynesia, and deeply falls in love at first sight with a beautiful lovely lady, Faustine. But there’s something wrong, she doesn’t seem to notice or care about anything he does or says; in fact, everyone on the island completely ignores him. They all seem to be in some sort of trance. How can that be ? Is everyone bewitched, or is he ?

We'll be reading The Invention of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares though we won't be at The Didsbury on Wilmslow Road in Didsbury on 17 September 2026.

The Trial — Franz Kafka

“It's only because of their stupidity that they're able to be so sure of themselves.”

Joseph K wakes up one day to find himself accused of a crime he did not commit, a crime whose nature is never revealed to him.

We'll be reading The Trial by Franz Kafka though we won't be at The Didsbury on Wilmslow Road in Didsbury on 03 September 2026.